Summary: Rachel Black has always avoided La Push since the death of her mother. As soon as she graduated from high school, she took the opportunity to go to college when offered a scholarship. Now that Rachel has graduated from Washington State and returns home, she is instantly imprinted on by Paul. Rachel refuses to have anything to do with Paul after she caught him doing something unexplainable the previous year. Will Rachel allow Paul to be a part of her life or refuse the imprint magic that is drawing her towards her soul mate?
When Destiny Calls
Chapter One: Coming Home
Veronica and I placed the last two boxes of my belongings into my car. I was so excited.
I had finally graduated from college; all that hard work and I had achieved my goal; a bachelor's of science in Computer Engineering from Washington State. In three years no doubt. Now that I have graduated, I had also gotten several job offers from Seattle and Portland; I even considered staying with my father for a while until I figured out what I wanted to do. It wasn't such a great idea considering my mother's memory still lives there, but I was fresh out of school, and home was the most affordable I could manage right now.
Once Veronica and I put the last box of mine into the car, I turned around to face her.
"Well," I started, "that's the last of it. Thank you for your help."
Veronica nodded. "Anytime." Then all of a sudden, she enveloped me into a big hug, I could feel a small tear on my shirt. "I really am going to miss having you as my roomie, Rachel."
I started to feel a bit emotional as well. "I'm going to miss you as well."
We pulled away from each other. Veronica was my roommate throughout the years I had attended Washington State. She'd made my college years the best I could ask for.
"Make sure you stay in touch, I'm going to need my best friend," she said in a teasingly, threatening way.
I laughed. "I will. And thanks for everything."
"Anytime Rachel. Just don't be a stranger when you come by to visit."
After we gave each other one last hug, I pulled away, got into my car and started heading towards the town that contained the ghost of my past.
I was dreading going home in some ways but in others I welcomed it. I had hardly been able to stay here since the death of my mother; that was one of the reasons I wasn't interested in coming back, but I'll get to that later. At the very least, I planned to stop by for a day or two to see how my father was holding up, and then I would head straight back to Washington State, but I wanted to graduate early so I spent my breaks working or taking more classes. I had finally graduated, and was hoping to spend some time with my brother and father. I haven't been to visit my family in a while, and it would be nice to finally see them. Of course, Rebecca wouldn't be making an appearance.
My father, Billy, was such a superstitious, old man. He took every Quileute legend to heart, and had every bit of our history memorized as if it were the bible. Ever since my brother, sister and I were little, he would tell us the legends of our tribe every night, also including how he saw his grandfather change, but I think he was just exaggerating. The legends were kind of silly, just passed down through the generations to be told to children at bedtime. I always thought they were told to us as children to keep us out of the woods at night. They say that when the Cold Ones, vampires, trespass onto Quileute land, it triggers the magic in our blood, and causing the new generation of boys on our tribe to phase into wolves. But they were just stories. I mean, come on, seriously? Werewolves and vampires? Who believes in that stuff?
In addition to my sister and father, there was my baby and only brother, Jacob. To describe him… well, basically, he is just one of a kind, but everything I know about Jacob was from what I remembered before I left school. Jacob was always happy and content to get his hands dirty or roughhouse with his friends, or even the mischief he would get into with our cousin, Quil. His happiness was the part I was looking forward to most in coming home. He just had this knack for making the world just a little bit brighter. Last time I ever really saw Jacob was my last summer in La Push before I had started my freshman year of college. He was scrawny and so thin it looked like the wind could blow him away. I haven't seen him in what felt like forever. I'll never tell him this, but I've missed him.
Along with Jacob, there was his best friend, our unofficial brother, Embry. Embry was always at our house; I guess one of the reasons he came over a lot was because of how maternal our mother was. She made him feel so much like a part of our family that we sometimes begged our parents to adopt him, so he could officially be our family. Our parents told us that Embry's mother would miss him too much. Embry's mother had him when she was in her late teens, so she spent the majority of her time working two jobs to support them.
Apart from my adoptive brother, there was Rebecca, my twin sister. I was the oldest by five minutes. You know the saying about twins, how we can look alike but have completely different personalities?
That, basically, is how you can describe Becks and I, total bookends to one another. Rebecca was the wild, carefree one, while I was calm and studious. We shared a special connection that some claim is like twin telepathy since we always knew when something wasn't right with the other. Maybe we did but I wasn't one to put stock in superpowers or the supernatural, despite the bedtime stories over the years. Becks has not made an appearance in La Push for three years; we both avoided it like the plague, because of one reason — our mother.
Our mother, Sarah Black, was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. She had long, sleek, black hair that fell down to her waist, dark brown eyes, light russet skin, and a beautiful smile. I worshiped the ground my mother had walked on. She was perfect in the way that mothers were to their daughters. My father had felt the same; he practically bowed at her feet and would have thrown himself over a cliff if it had made her happy. When he would bring her hand up to his lips to give it a gentle kiss, and the way he used to look at her every day made me wish I could meet someone who would look at me like that for the rest of my life. I can only dream about it.
On the weekend before the summer vacation was about to end, she would throw a party for just our family to celebrate us growing up. She also threw us perfect birthday parties. She even went out of her way to make Jacob's best friend Embry, feel like he was one of her own sons. Embry's mother had him when she was a teenager, feeling like her youth was lost due to the fact she spent most of her time working two jobs to help support their small family. We loved Embry so much, he was like a second little brother to Becks and I.
And then, one tragic day was all it took for us to feel as if our souls had been crushed.
Seven years ago...
The thunder was starting to begin, and Mom was getting her coat on to head to the store.
"Mom, why can't I come with you to the store?" I asked. I always felt like a momma's girl.
"Sweetie I will be back soon. Just do me a favor and keep your brother away from sweets, okay?"
"Okay, Mom," I said. "I love you."
"I love you too, baby," she said. Mom walked outside to the car and drove off to the store.
Hours passed by and I began to get agitated. It had never taken her this long to go to the store. Dad was starting to look a bit worried himself. I think I am just overreacting. Mom is fine. Maybe her car broke down and she needed to call Charlie to give her a lift home.
I kept talking to myself out of all the delusional possibilities that could have happened. Little did I know what horror awaited when the sudden sound of tires splashed through the puddles down our dirt driveway.
Hope had welled in my chest as I rushed over to the window, expecting to see the beat-up sedan, pulling up into the drive way. Instead, I saw Charlie's police cruiser in the driveway.
So I was right, Mom's car did break down. Or so I had convinced myself. The car probably just got a flat tire.
I felt a slight twinge of relief, until I saw Charlie's face and that my mother wasn't with him. A lump formed in my throat, and I began to feel my heart pounding as Charlie kept taking steps closer to the door.
I nearly jumped out of my skin when the doorbell rang.
Jacob and Rebecca came to the front door right behind Dad. Dad opened the door and was shocked to see Charlie there.
"Charlie," Dad asked surprised and confused. "What's going on?"
Charlie sighed. "I was on duty when I got the call about a bad accident; I told the team I would take this, seeing as to how we're good friends. This has to be the most difficult thing I will ever do."
"Billy," Charlie started, "Sarah was in a car accident."
"Okay," Dad said slowly, "she was in a car accident, so she's in the hospital, and she'll be ready for me to pick her up in a few days, right?"
Charlie shook his head. "Billy, the accident she was in was really awful. The car that hit her, the driver had an alcohol level way above the legal limit, and he was driving too fast and hydroplaned when his car just collided with Sarah's. Sarah's car got swept up and hit a telephone pole. "
"Charlie," Dad said quietly. "What exactly are you trying to tell me"
"Billy, Sarah is gone. I'm so sorry," Charlie said quietly.
I felt my lungs begin to constrict. My mother was gone. Gone. I would never see her again. Never. When I looked over at my father and my siblings, all of them had their own reactions; Rebecca started having quiet tears rolling down her face. Jacob was just numb and quiet, no words or snide comments, the shock of her death was too much for him to form any sort of reaction. Our father, the strongest man I have known my entire life, broke down. I lost what little composure I had left. What were we supposed to do now? I couldn't imagine what life was going to be like now without her.
He wiped at his eyes with his fingers, but it was no use now that the floodgates were open. He walked over to the couch, plopping himself down. His whole body shook with the force of his sobs. My entire life, I had never seen my father lose it like that. His body was shaking. Charlie walked past us into the house.
"Look," he said. "Why don't you guys head on to your rooms, and I'll stay here with your dad, okay."
We nodded our heads. Rebecca just took off towards our room, closing the door loudly. I took Jacob by the hand and led him into the room that all three of us shared together. His big brown eyes were filled with sadness. I gave him a kiss on the cheek and walked to the other side of the small room. Rebecca was lying face down on the bed, crying so hard her whole body shook, and her face was buried into the pillow.
I wanted to say something to her, but I was just too upset at the moment. I ended up just crawling into my bed, with silent tears falling from my eyes. I felt so many depressing feelings at once I wasn't sure how the rest of my life would turn out from this day on.
On a small reservation, news certainly did travel fast. The news of Mom's death brought over our closest relatives.
Our extended family, the Atearas, were the first to stop by. Our Great Uncle, Quil III, or Old Quil as he is known as; looked so sullen, even beyond the years. This had to have hit him hard, this was his niece after all. Joy and Quil V both trailed behind him. Quil ended up going towards Jacob and taking Jake outside. Joy walked over to Dad and gave him a hug. Joy pulled away and began walking over to us.
"I am so sorry about your mother," Joy told us,enveloping us into a hug. "Sarah was such a good woman, her accident was simply horrible."
Becks and I sniffled as she pulled us both into a big hug. "If you girls ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask me."
"Thanks, Aunt Joy," Becks and I whispered.
Aunt Joy turned towards Dad. "How are the funeral preparations coming along?"
Dad began to choke up a little bit. "Sarah is at the morgue, they have already got her dressed for the funeral this Sunday. Her parents will be coming over tomorrow evening. Not sure my folks will be coming in until Saturday morning, considering they never cared about Sarah."
Of course my Dad's parents wouldn't be showing up, the drama between my mother and my grandparents wasn't exactly something I wanted to recall at this moment. Funerals, like weddings, did have a tendency to put family strife aside, however.
Joy nodded her head. "Good, we should be celebrating Sarah's life, not ruining her memory because of foolishness."
The following day was the day I dreaded the most.
Mom's funeral.
When we arrived at the funeral home,the director had us follow him towards Mom's coffin. My stomach churned as I took in the simple coffin that had been secured shut with nails.
"We thought it was best to secure the coffin lid," he explained. "Her body was too mangled by the accident to be displayed. No one should remember a loved one in such a terrible state."
Dad silently nodded his head. The funeral director left us to give us a couple of moments before the service begun.
The sermon was sad. Old Quil gave the Quileute eulogy; stating that she is now in the care of our ancestors, and she will be watching over us forever.
Quil Sr., being one of the elders as well as my mother's great uncle, gave a second eulogy, it was a beautiful ceremony, fitting for the beautiful person she was.
At the end of the eulogy, we all went outside towards the cemetery to the plot where Mom would be buried. The headstone read "Sarah Winifred Wilde Black, loving sister, daughter, mother and wife." Along with some words written in Quileute blessing her grave. Each of us, Rebecca, Jacob and me placed flowers on her coffin before they began to lower it into the ground.
As the coffin sunk beneath the earth, the grounds keepers began to shovel dirt onto it. I held onto my sister and my brother willing this to not exist. That this was just some strange nightmare that I couldn't wake up from. Tears flowed and condolences were handed out left and right with tissues and hugs. I didn't want their pity. I wanted my mother back.
When it was over, it was just the four of us standing looking at the headstone in silence. Without another word, I walked over to the headstone, placing the bouquet of flowers Old Quil gave me at the beginning of the service, on top of her grave.
"Goodbye, Mom," I whispered. Tears flowing down my face freely.
For months after the funeral, things at home were falling off the freaking wagon. My father spent most of his time going fishing with Charlie. He was too emotionally distraught after Mom's death, but it was the funeral that hit him really hard. He rarely ate and was experiencing sleepless nights. Becks and I basically raised Jake until Sue Clearwater and Charlie told Dad to man up and get it together for his kids. After Dad was finished with his long hours of fishing with Charlie, he went to the doctor for a physical exam. From the time Dad wasn't taking care of himself, it really took a toll on his health. There, the doctor told him that his diabetes had gotten so out of control that he would soon be confined to a wheelchair. That was another obstacle that hit us hard.
Soon, Becks and I were literally taking care of our brother and father. Which explained when, four years later after our mother's death, opportunities were flashing right in front of our faces, both Becks and I took them as our chance to leave La Push, Dad understood our pain, of how much we loved our mother and how being in the house was just a constant reminder of her spirit. We rarely looked back.
While taking care of my brother and father, I studied my ass off so that I could go to a good college. All my hard work had finally paid off when I was given a full academic scholarship to Washington State University.
A little over three years ago...
Today is the day I have been anxiously waiting for since November. A day that would determine the rest of my life; if whether or not my way out of La Push had actually become realistic for me. I walked over to the mailbox, lifting down the lid and saw a big envelope lying inside. I reached inside, grabbing the envelope and gasped at who the letter was from: Washington State University.
With shaking hands, I ripped the seal at the top and pulled out all of the contents. There were two letters and a big book. I had a feeling about what the book and letter were about, but I wanted to read it with my own eyes.
Dear Miss Rachel Black,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into Washington State University. Due to your excellent credentials and recommendations from your instructors at your secondary school, and your application for financial assistance, we are glad to inform you that you have been granted a full scholarship that will cover tuition, room and board.
We require your response to...
I had to stop reading there. I couldn't believe it; the one school I wanted to go to had accepted me. I could finally get out of this place. I really don't want to leave Dad and Jake, but this is the best thing that could have ever happened to me. This is the opportunity to become something and have a better life that my mother wanted me to have.
With a big sigh, I walked back into the house; I could feel my heart pounding loudly inside my chest. How would Dad react to this news? I wouldn't really know until I told Dad myself.
I walked to the kitchen and saw Dad and Jake sitting at the kitchen table. Jacob was eating cereal. Rebecca was nowhere to be seen because she had left early in the morning to go meet Solomon, he had an important surfing competition to go to, so Rebecca went to support him.
I moved closer towards the table. It was better to get this over and done with.
"Dad," I called softly, "There's something important and really exciting I wanted to tell you."
"Okay, Rachel, what is it?"
I sighed and handed him my acceptance letter. He read over it and began to smile. "Oh, Rachel, you got into Washington State, I'm so proud of you and with a full-scholarship."
"Yes, Dad and I wanted your permission to go," I told him. His face began to droop, but he knows how painful it is for me to be around, especially since I see her everywhere I go. I know it will be so hard for him to see me leave, but it was something I wanted more than anything in the world.
"Rachel, you have my permission to go, and when I'm a really old man just don't stick me in a retirement home."
I began laughing. Jacob got up from the table to go wash his bowl. While he was washing his bowl, he started talking like Jacob.
"Now Rachel," he began. "When you come to visit us for break, you better not be the next teen mom."
Dad began to snicker. I shook my head.
Rebecca found her own one-way ticket out of here. While on a short road trip to California, she was invited to a surfing competition. When she was there, she caught the eyes of Solomon Finau. Becks had great tastes when it came to men and good looks. He looked like a model almost. Solomon was Samoan, tall, handsome, sweet, and very talented at his sport. They fell in love quickly despite living a couple states from each other. After three months, Solomon landed a sponsorship deal with Quiksilver and was relocating to Hawaii. Still so in love with my sister, he asked her to move with him. With Dad's blessing, she left the cold, wet and dismal Pacific Northwest for the tropical and warm Hawaiian Islands. They eloped before they moved to Hawaii.
It was the crack of dawn and Becks still hadn't come home, this has been happening frequently since Rebecca started dating Solomon. Dad was beginning to worry about her.
"Rachel," Dad called. "It's the crack of dawn and Rebecca still hasn't come home."
I shook my head. "I only know what you know Dad, that they went out for a date."
Dad cursed a few words in Quileute. "I'm going to call Charlie, see if he can round up a search party."
"Dad, I'm sure she is fine."
Dad was about to open his mouth again when the front door opened.
Rebecca came home with the most giddy, huge smile on her face a girl could ever have.
"Where have you been young lady?" My dad asked.
Rebecca still had the huge smile on her face; I used our twin telepathy and could tell she was very excited about something.
Rebecca walked over to the couch and sat down on it, then turned to look at Dad.
"Daddy, there's something important I want to tell you," she said.
Dad looked at Rebecca suspiciously. "Okay, well you know Sol and I have been dating for a while now. But I there's something important I wanted to tell you."
Dad was a bit shocked, but then started to flip out.
"Oh my god, you're pregnant, aren't you?" He shrieked. Dad swiveled in his wheelchair and began ranting in Quileute.
Jacob, who was eating his breakfast in the kitchen rushed into the living room. "So you're carrying surfer boy's fish spawn, huh?"
"Shut up, Jacob," Rebecca said. Rebecca stood up, shaking her head. "Dad! I'm not pregnant!"
Dad stopped his ranting. "You're not pregnant?"
"God no!" Rebecca exclaimed.
Dad placed his hand over his heart, "Thank God. Don't ever do that to me again."
Rebecca just rolled her eyes. "Dad, see, the thing is last night, Simon proposed to me, and I accepted. We went to Rino last night and eloped." Rebecca held out her left hand to show the diamond ring on third finger.
I just stood there with my dropped jaw. Rebecca is married. She and Solomon eloped. I could not believe it. How could she do something so reckless and impulsive.
"You got married!" Dad exclaimed.
Wow. I never thought dad would react like this. But then again he is very protective of his little girls, as he likes to call us so much.
"I know, it's really sudden, but I love him, Dad. He makes me really happy. Don't you want me to be happy?"
Dad sighed heavily and began rubbing his eyes. "Becks, you're just so young, you have a whole life ahead of you."
"I know, Dad. But Rachel and I just feel so sad being in this house, it's just been hard since Mom died, and Solomon feels like my other half. Like he belongs to me," Rebecca admitted.
Dad rolled over in his chair towards Becks, taking her hand into his. "Becks, I know living here since your mother's death has been hard on you, on Rachel as well, I understand. But if this Simon guy makes you truly happy, then you have my blessing."
Becks bent down and began hugging Dad. "Thank you daddy. You don't know how much this means to me."
They hugged for a few minutes before Becks moved away. She had a sly smile still on her lips.
"I'm really glad you're accepting our marriage, Dad," Becks continued. "Because there's more I have to tell you."
Dad raised his eyebrows. "There's more?"
Becks nodded. "Yes. Sol's manager, she's in charge of his earnings. He bought us a house in Honolulu, and it's really quite big, there's enough room for both of us, and seeing as to how we are married now, he wants me to go with him."
Now I was about to have an anxiety attack. My only sister was leaving.
"You're leaving La Push," Dad said sadly. I could feel pressure building up in my chest, I had a feeling it was a panic attack. My only sister was leaving, and what's even worse, I may hardly see her again. I was going off to school in a town that was an eight hour drive from here, but Becks is moving to another state.
I turned to look at my Dad and Jacob. Jacob looked angry and upset.
"I hate you!" Jacob yelled at Rebecca before running past the front door.
"Jacob!" Rebecca pleaded. Rebecca was about to go after Jacob, but I waved my hand in front of them.
"It's okay," I said. "I'll go and talk to Jacob."
I went out the front door and saw Jacob running towards the garage. The garage has always been Jacob's safe house, until he was a first-hand witness to something that was extremely tragic, but that's Jacob's story to tell.
I jogged over to the garage and saw Jacob sitting in a little ball, under the work counter. My poor baby brother looked so miserable.
I walked over to the bench and squatted down. "Can I join you under there?"
Jacob merely shrugged his shoulders.
I went under the work bench and sat down next to Jacob.
"Jake," I asked hesitantly. "Why did you run?"
"It's just…," he started. "It's just I have already lost mom, and I don't even really remember her, you're going off to college, and now I'm losing Becks."
I felt my heart drop. To Jacob, we were the only motherly figures he really had, and now, he felt like Becks was abandoning him.
"Jake, Becks isn't abandoning you; she just wants to be happy. And we need to be happy for her. If we're don't, then she may not ever come back to visit."
Jacob only nodded his head. I reached over and hugged my brother.
"Everything will be okay, you'll see." I gave Jacob one last reassuring hug before we both got up and headed back toward the house. The conversation that Dad and Rebecca were having began to rattle us.
"Dad, come on, it's a great solution, you and Jake should move to Hawaii with me and Solomon. Let me take you out of La Push," Rebecca pleaded.
Dad shook his head. "Sweetheart I know you mean well, but La Push is my home, and I want to stay here alright, where all my memories remain."
Rebecca looked sad but nodded, she wanted to respect dad's wishes. "I'm going to go and pack my things Dad." Rebecca gave Dad a quick hug before she went into our bedroom and began packing.
Sol was set up in a cozy beach bungalow courtesy of his new sponsors that had a lovely deck where Rebecca loved to spend her time drawing. She often sent home pictures that looked like something straight out of a postcard.
We were both happy to leave, but sometimes, I did feel a twinge of guilt at the fact that we practically abandoned our little brother. During the time I was away at school, I couldn't help but worry about him. The last time I spoke to my father, he had told me the Jacob was having some huge crush on Charlie Swan's daughter, Bella. Apparently, Jacob thought he was in love with her. Dad was hoping that he would get over it and find someone else, but we've both known Jacob long enough to know how stubborn he's always been. Once he had his mind set there was usually no budging him.
I looked at my gas tank and noticed it was almost at empty. I pulled off onto the next exit, and drove for about a block until I was in front of a gas station. Grabbing my purse, I went inside and started walking towards the front door of the gas station. When I looked up at the door to swing it open, I froze and was shocked at the picture I saw.
I moved closer to the glass and stared at what was in front of my face. A flyer of a boy, who was missing, it wasn't just any boy - it was my baby brother, Jacob. It had the recent school picture he had taken the previous year. Underneath the picture were words in bold black, "Have you seen this boy?"
A/N: Thank you for reading my story. Please review, reviews keep me writing